SOUTHGATE — A pair of Downriver League softball teams looking to find some early-season momentum matched up Thursday afternoon as Southgate Anderson welcomed in Dearborn Edsel Ford.
Both teams came in looking to change some recent fortunes as of late. Anderson had dropped each of its last five games and been held to three runs or fewer in four of those contests. Edsel meanwhile was hoping to avoid a third loss in four games this week alone after dropping games to league foes Wyandotte Roosevelt and Taylor High earlier in the week.
The offense by and large struggled again but enough production along with a strong pitching showing from Paige Kruzak led the host Titans to a 4-0 win over the visiting Thunderbirds.
PHOTO GALLERY: Softball – Dearborn Edsel Ford vs Southgate Anderson
Anderson with the win has now won two straight and five of their last seven meetings with Edsel going back to the 2021 campaign. More importantly, it gets the Titans back in the win column since defeating Grosse Ile in the first of a season-opening doubleheader back on April 5.
And Thursday’s success on the diamond for the burgundy and silver started and ended with the aforementioned Paige Kruzak. A first-team all-News-Herald honoree and all-Downriver League player a season ago, the junior allowed just five hits and struck out eight Edsel batters over her seven innings of work.
Kruzak did have to navigate some traffic and threats early from the Thunderbirds, who got runners over to second and third with two outs in the second inning but could not cash in. Then in the fourth, a one-out single eventually fell by the wayside.
At that point, it was still a scoreless game. Anderson through the first three innings had mustered just a pair of hits themselves, one of which was a one-out triple in the third off the bat of Gabriela Jones.
The Titans then finally broke through in the home half of the fourth. Kruzak helped out her own cause as her and Taylor Mydlarz led off the inning with consecutive singles. Three batters later with one out, Mydlarz and Kruzak’s courtesy runner Layla Simons scored on a base hit off the bat of Isabella Heyer to make it a 2-0 game.
The hosts capped off the scoring with two more in the fourth. A single from Jones and a double from Reese Randall set up Gabriella Hess, who dropped down a bunt that was misplayed by Edsel. That allowed for both Randall and Jones to score. Hess scooted over to second on the play but was later caught stealing third.
The four runs were the only blemish on the final line for Edsel starter Faith Douglas, who tossed all six innings and allowed just five hits while fanning four Anderson hitters.
Samantha Jamgochian was responsible for two of the Thunderbirds’ five hits in the loss. Miley Onufrak, who also had a hit in the game, was left stranded at third base in both the second and fourth innings. Those were two of four occasions in which Edsel had left a runner in scoring position.
Sidnee Szymanski and Scarlett Jeffries had the other two hits for the visitors.
UP NEXT
Anderson (2-5-1, 1-3 DRL) will look to make it two straight wins next week when they continue DRL play on Monday, April 22 against Taylor High (4:30p). That game will be played at Heritage Park in Taylor.
The Titans after that face tough tests back-to-back as they draw a pair of state-ranked conference rivals in Brownstown Woodhaven and Allen Park on Apr 24 and 25, respectively.
The next two opponents for Edsel (1-4, 1-3 DRL) are also against Woodhaven and Allen Park, those coming on Apr 22 and 24, respectively. The Thunderbirds will then tangle with former conference rival Melvindale in a matinee twin bill on the road on Saturday, Apr 27 (10:00a / 12:00p).
